House, Senate cast veto-proof majority votes on school funding bill

The General Assembly sent a message to Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday saying they want the $150 million in new basic education funding in the 2015-16 budget distributed using the Basic Education Funding Commission-recommended formula.

Both chambers cast veto-proof majority votes on Wednesday to pass a fiscal code bill that would require those dollars be distributed using the Basic Education Funding Commission-recommended formula that will result in 423 school districts receiving more money than they would under the governor's formula.

Additionally, the legislation includes borrowing $2.5 billion to pay school districts money that had been promised to them by the state for school construction projects.

The Senate's 38-11 vote was followed a few hours later by the House's 149-45 vote.

Eight Democratic senators and 38 Democratic representatives joined their GOP colleagues in their respective chambers to ensure the two-thirds support was there to override a governor's veto. It requires 33 votes in the Senate and 136 House votes for a veto override.

What Wolf will do with the legislation was unclear on Wednesday evening. His spokesman issued a statement saying the governor will review "the legislation in its entirety" when it reaches his desk.

Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan also repeated the governor's position about wanting to implement the Basic Education Funding Commission formula only after funding was restored that was cut during the previous administration.

One of the biggest gripes many Republican and Democratic legislators had with the governor's formula was how three of 500 school districts - Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Chester-Upland - received half of the $150 million in additional money for basic education funding.

"Hopefully, the governor is recognizing the Republicans and Democrats are starting to work together and becomes a part of that discussion. Certainly an override is a method of last resort," said House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana. "Hopefully, he'll recognize it and sign the bill."

Rep. Patty Kim, D-Harrisburg, who voted with the majority of her caucus in opposing the measure said earlier in the day that she was disappointed that Harrisburg School District would receive nearly $1 million less under the governor's formula than it would under the Basic Education Funding Commission formula.

However, she said, "I understand that we are trying to help those school districts that are hurting more than we are so I can be patient right now."

The governor last month vetoed a more expansive version of a fiscal code bill that included provisions for using the Basic Education Funding Commission formula to distribute the new basic education dollars and for borrowing money to clear the backlog of payments owed to districts for construction projects.

Because no funding was included in the budget for school construction in anticipation of borrowing money, that left many districts with a big hole in their 2015-16 budgets.

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said that reason alone makes it "imperative we move forward and get this done."

In a statement, Corman urged the governor "to put aside his partisanship and agree to fair funding for all our schools."